I was involved in an auto accident, which was not my fault. The person who hit me utilizes GuideOne Insurance. My first contact with the insurance company was fine. Then when it came down to making my appointment with my chosen auto repair shop and have a rental car provided is when the issues arose. On 7/14/09 I called the auto repair shop and asked when the best time to bring the vehicle in would be. The shop told me I could drop it off as soon as the next morning, if I chose.
I made a phone call to the insurance company to determine my next course of action, where I received voicemail this was around 3 pm. Close to 5 pm I called again, no answer, spoke with the operator who told me to contact the rental company directly to set up the car. No phone call was returned; until around 6:30 pm that evening, (I was unable to answer the call). A message was left for me indicating that GuideOne will not pay for rental vehicles for the weekend. On 7/15/09, I called the insurance company around 8 am. My call was not returned until 10:20 am. During this conversation the claims representative informed me that I need to take my car into the shop at GuideOne's convenience. I need to drop it off on a Monday because they will only pay for 4 days of rental coverage based on the estimated 12.6 hours of labor needed to make the repairs.
They will not allow me to drop the vehicle off at the auto body shop at my convenience. For example: the shop orders the replacement parts. The parts arrive on a Tuesday, making the car drop off date as Wednesday you are unable to take the car in before 12 noon on Wednesday missing work and a loss of wages to do so. Then due to the fact that you car will not be ready by the end of close business on Friday, GuideOne Insurance will not cover the cost of your rental car beyond the 4 days they gave you based on a 12.6 hour repair time. But not to worry cause you can utilize those 4 days as you chose, so they do cover the weekend?! But you should know that you would ultimately be responsible for the rental car charges incurred on the Mon, Tues, or days longer it takes the shop to repair the car because they paid for those 4 days, it just your unfortunate circumstance that it happened to have a weekend involved.
This is not a reasonable policy for business operations! It was not my fault, it has been a big enough problem that I have to deal with it to begin with, now I talking in circles with an insurance company with no adequate customer service skills and need to comply at their convenience. The claims rep was rude, obnoxious and talked to me like I was stupid. When asked to speak with a supervisor, he gave me the info, told me he would transfer me and nothing ever happened. I ended up having to hang up the phone and dial the supervisor directly. The supervisor returned my call, with attitude to the situation already based on what his rep had told him. Was nicer, but felt it was a reasonable assumption that dropping the car off at the auto repair shop on a Monday is a reasonable request. FOR WHO GUIDE ONE? NOT ME!
Not to mention, the rep called the repair shop to check up on my conversations with them assuming I had made an appointment before parts were ordered as a fraud tactic to take advantage of the company paying for a rental car. To bad, my phone call was to find out my next course of action.
I would not insure anything through this company and the client of theirs who hit me will be ending business with them as soon as their year of coverage is complete. Not customer oriented, not nice, doesn't practice good service based on policy coverage. Is a rental car covered, yes, then it should be for the time it is needed by the customer and at their convenience, not the convenience of GuideOne insurance.
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